Taking off the Training Wheels
by SupergirlCK
Summary: My take on Quil and Claire as she grows up. "Claire, you're a big girl now. It's time to take off the training wheels." QuilxClaire
1. In Which Claire Turns Four

**This is a story about Quil and Claire as she grows up and learns about life. Starts on her fourth birthday and will touch on moments that are somehow important in her life. It's a pretty basic Quil and Claire story - just my take on how their relationship plays out.**

**I wrote this as a companion piece to my other story "Life on the Rez," but it is made to stand alone and the non-canon things in that story will be minimized as much as possible for this.**

**I really hope you all like it! Please Read and Review!**

**Also, Disclaimer: I do not own anything or anyone that you recognize.**

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"Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to meeeee, Happy Birthday to me!" Four year old Claire Ozette she skipped down the stairs half singing, half yelling the classic birthday song. She wore a purple sweater, red leggings, a red tutu with purple polka-dots, and brown cowboy boots with purple stitching. Her long hair was pulled into a comically lopsided ponytail by a flamboyant red feathered scrunchie.

Her mother laughed. Elizabeth Young, now Elizabeth Ozette was as happy and beautiful as her sister, Emily. Her bronze skin and raven hair glimmered in the light of the rising sun coming through the living room window. "Happy Birthday, my love," she said quietly. "Shh, you'll wake your father." She scooped the girl into her arms and placed a loving kiss on her cheek.

"Mommy, where's Quil?"

"Claire, sweetheart," Elizabeth said, lowering Claire back to the floor, "the sun's barely up. I know you're excited for your birthday, but you do know that people need to sleep, don't you? I told Quil he could come over at 7:30 so you two could spend the whole day together."

"What time is it now?" Claire asked, looking up expectantly at her mother. Elizabeth glanced at the clock.

"6:00."

Claire scrunched up her face, thinking hard. "How long until Quil gets here?" she asked when she couldn't figure it out on her own.

"An hour and a half. That's like the time it takes to drive to Port Angeles and back."

Claire's eyes widened in horror. "Mommy, that's like _foreeeeeeever_!" she cried.

"Shh," Elizabeth reprimanded gently. "Daddy's still sleeping." A beautiful smile graced her face.  
"Don't worry; It'll go by like that." She snapped her fingers. "First of all, let me fix your hair." She reached down to pull out the scrunchie, but Claire quickly maneuvered out of her grasp.

"No, Mommy! I want to show Quil! I did it all by myself 'cuz I'm big now. I'm four years old!"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes with a chuckle. "Alright Birthday Girl. Come on, then. You can help me cook the chicken to bring down to La Push, and then we can make some birthday pancakes."

Claire's face lit up. "Blueberry pancakes?" she asked excitedly, following Elizabeth into the kitchen.

"Of course." Elizabeth tied a blue and white cotton apron around her waist and did the same for Claire. "But chicken first."

Claire climbed up onto a step-stool so she could reach the counter, and then followed her mother's lead, working a garlicky rub onto half a dozen whole chickens. Her little hand scooped up the wet flavoring and massaged it clumsily onto the skin of the chickens. Then she stood back while Elizabeth put the first two into the oven.

They heard a knock on the door. Elizabeth frowned and checked the clock. It was 6:45.

"Quil!" Claire shrieked, sprinting to the door and flinging herself into Quil's waiting arms.

"Happy Birthday, Claire Bear," he said, sporting a grin a mile wide. He walked over to kiss Elizabeth on the cheek. "Hey Liz," he said. "Sorry I'm early…I just had a feeling she'd be up, and I promised I'd be around all day."

Elizabeth laughed. "It's fine. She's been champing at the bit since she came downstairs. It's all I can do to distract her until you get here." She shook her head, not understanding her daughter's affection for this man. Sure, he was sweet, and he offered the girl a lot of attention, but still, she was sure she had never seen a four year old with such a strong attachment to anyone other than their mother before. In fact, though she generally tried to push the thoughts out of her head, she sometimes wondered whether his connection with Claire was stronger than her own. But she would not allow herself to feel any resentment or jealousy toward this man who Claire loved and who was willing to help her out so much when she really could not afford decent childcare.

As if in response to her thoughts, Quil shrugged with a charming smile before turning his attention back to Claire. "Are you excited for your birthday surprise?"

"Oooh! What is it, Quil? What's the surprise? What is it? What is it? What's my surprise? What is it? What's the surprise? What is it?"

"You'll just have to wait and find out," Quil said, interrupting her impressively persistent badgering.

"I caaaaaaaaaaaaan't waaaaait!" Claire cried. It was as if she were in agony.

"You'll see it soooooon," Quil sang. He was thrilled with himself. Claire had been anticipating her birthday for a long time now, and there was one thing that she had been asking for consistently. He couldn't afford to buy her something expensive, but he was quite proud of the gift that he had been working on building for her for weeks. He was almost as excited for her to see it as she was. Fortunately, being expertly practiced in delayed satisfaction, he was great at find ways to distract both himself and his little protégé.

"Now turn around, let me look at you." He said, putting her down so she could do as he instructed. Claire delicately held the edges of her tutu and twirled in place. "Oh my goodness!" Quil exclaimed. "You're so big! How old are you now?" he asked, though he was well aware of the answer.

"I'm four years old," she said, holding up a hand, four fingers stretched to their limits.

"What?" He feigned incredulity. "No way. I thought you were at least 17. You look so grown up. I bet you got dressed _all_ by yourself this morning."

Claire beamed with pride. "Mhm," she nodded. "And I'm helping Mommy make breakfast." She led him into the kitchen, where the ingredients for the batter were already carefully measured and arranged on the counter next to a large mixing bowl. Claire hopped back up to her stool and waited for her mother's instructions on what to do.

"Oooh, yummy." He rubbed his hands together. "What's on the menu?"

"Blueberry pancakes," Claire whispered with glee.

Elizabeth handed her the dry ingredients one at a time, and helped her dump them into the bowl without spilling.

Quil gasped. "My favorite! Good thing _you_ don't like blueberry pancakes because I'm going to eat them all!"

"No Quil!" she squealed. "Don't eat them all! I _do_ like them!"

Elizabeth added the eggs while Claire was distracted and began to mix the batter.

"Are you sure?" Quil teased. "I thought you only liked to eat slug sandwiches!"

Claire scrunched up her nose in disgust and stuck out her tongue at him. "Eeeeeewwww. Quiiiiiiil! Yuck."

"No? What about cricket cupcakes with mud frosting?"

"Groooooooosssssssssss" Claire cried once more, louder this time.

"Uh oh. Then you'd better fill up on pancakes, because all we're having at the party are slug sandwiches and cricket cupcakes with mud frosting." He popped a blueberry into his mouth before emptying the rest of the container into the batter that Elizabeth was stirring.

"No, Quil. You're teasing me." Claire shook her head confidently. Seeing that her part was finished, Claire got down from her stool and Quil helped her into her booster seat at the table.

Within minutes, Elizabeth brought two plates of blueberry pancakes to the table. One plate contained a single pancake cut into small pieces. This she placed in front of Quil. The other, piled high with six pancakes, she put down in front of Claire. "Is that right?" she asked.

Claire looked at Quil, and then looked up at her mother. She gave a sly grin and nodded her head. "Yep."

Quill narrowed his eyes. "You little weasel," he said, switching their plates.

Claire giggled and happily accepted her proper plate.

By the time Claire and Quil were finished eating, Dan Ozette was making his way down the stairs. He wore jeans and a white t-shirt, and was combing his long, wet hair into a ponytail.

"Happy Birthday, baby girl," he said, placing a kiss on the crown of Claire's head. "Morning Sweetheart," he said to Elizabeth, kissing her briefly on the lips.

"Daddy's here! Can we go now?" Claire asked, hopping down from her seat.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Soon, Sweetie," she said. "But Daddy hasn't even eaten yet."

"Hurry up and eat, Daddy!" Claire cried, pulling him over to the table. "I've been waiting _all day_ for my surprise!"

"Claire, it's only 7:30," Elizabeth reminded her.

"Your life's going to be so much easier when she learns to tell time on her own," Quil laughed.

Claire did not stop pestering her father to hurry until he had finished eating and the four of them were piling into the car to head to La Push.

When they arrived at the community center, Emily and Sam were already there setting up. Sam was standing amidst a pile of balloons, hanging red and purple streamers and Emily was starting to lay out the food. There was a huge paper banner that read "Happy Birthday, Claire!" hanging above a table that housed several markers that people could use to sign it. Sam and Emily had already made their contributions with sweet little notes about how much they loved her. On the table, next to the markers was a small pile of neatly wrapped gifts.

"Hey Emmy." Elizabeth greeted her sister with a kiss on the cheek. Her hands were full with one of the trays of chicken she and Claire had made.

"Liz!" Emily cried, throwing her arms around Elizabeth as best she could. Then she took the tray and added it to the lineup.

"Emily," Dan greeted her with a kiss, carrying the other tray of food. "You look like you're about to pop."

Emily ran a hand over her hugely swollen belly. Indeed it had been a long pregnancy and she was ready for it to be over. "Yep," she said with a smile. "Just a few weeks to go." Her eyes scanned the room. "Now where's the birthday girl?"

Elizabeth inclined her head toward the other side of the room where Claire was twirling for Sam, showing off the outfit she had put together all by herself. "Wow Claire Bear, look at you," Emily exclaimed, rushing over to Claire and sweeping her into a hug. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you, Aunt Emily!" Claire smiled giddily.

"Now that you're here, should we put on some music?" Emily asked.

"Yaaaaay!" Claire shouted. She pulled Quil into an empty spot on the floor and began jumping around when Emily turned on the music. Quil hopped around with her, held her hands, and spun her in circles while the other adults continued to set up the room. One of the many reasons Claire loved having Quil around was that, when the other grownups were being boring, he always stayed and played with her.

Around noon, more people started to arrive, and it wasn't long before the large room was filled with all the people that Claire loved the most. They spent the day dancing, eating, and playing party games.

"Quil," Claire asked after winning a game of Red Light, Green Light (It was the one game they always let her win). "When do I get to open my presents?"

"Well, first we have to cut the cake."

"Mmmmmm, cake!"

"Mmm, cake!" Embry echoed. "Let's do it!" He raised his voice so he could be heard over the crowd. "Cake time, people!"

They crowded around the cake and Quil lifted Claire up so she could see over the table. It was a huge rectangular spice cake with cream cheese icing – Claire's favorite. It said "Happy Birthday Claire Bear," in loopy purple letters and was edged with roses made of frosting. Claire gasped. "It's beautiful!" she said, her eyes twinkling with excitement.

Elizabeth stuck five candles into the large white cake – one for each year of the little girl's life, and one for good luck – and lit them as everyone burst into song. When they were done singing Happy Birthday, Claire blew out all five candles in one breath, a feat which she and Quil had been practicing in the preceding week. They all clapped and Claire was ushered over to the pile of presents that had grown significantly since the morning, while Emily cut the cake.

Nestled in Quil's lap, Claire had the presents handed to her one by one. She tore open the paper on a series of dolls, clothes, books, little trinkets, and toys. Most were handmade, and Claire could only begin to understand the effort and love that had gone into each little gift. But still, after just one 'what do you say?' from Quil, she happily cried a satisfying "Oooh, thank you!" as she uncovered each of her new things.

When she got to the bottom of the pile, she looked around, confused. "But Quil, where's _your _present?" she asked.

"It's not my birthday," he said with a smirk. "I don't get presents."

"No, Quil! For me! What did you get me for my birthday? Where's my surprise?"

"Aha!" Quil said, sweeping her up onto his shoulders. "It's outside."

Claire's whole body shook with excited anticipation as she rode outside. Out in the cool misty air, Quil lowered Claire to the ground and she found herself face to face with a shiny red and purple bicycle. The way it gleamed even in the dim porch light distracted Claire from the fact that it was built from old parts that Quil had recycled from his, Embry's and Jake's first bikes. He had, however, picked up a brand new set of training wheels, which, along with a fresh coat of paint, a hand-woven white basket, and red and purple handlebar tassels, made the bike look almost new.

Claire's eyes practically bulged out of her head. "My bike!" she exclaimed as if it had been hers all along. "It's perfect!" She squeezed Quil's legs in a tight hug before climbing on the bike and taking off. She rode around in circles and back and forth a few times, leaning heavily on her right training wheel, before returning to where Quil, and now much of the rest of her family were standing watching her.

She climbed off her new bike. "Can I have cake now, Mommy?" she asked.

Elizabeth looked over her shoulder with a guilty grimace. "You didn't get any? I think it's gone, Sweetie. Your uncles ate it all."

"Aww man!"

"Next year," Quil said conspiratorially, "you should ask for chocolate."


	2. In Which Claire Starts PreK

**As always: I own nothing you recognize. **

**Before we get started, I want to thank everyone who has been reading. I hope you enjoyed and will continue to enjoy my Quil and Claire. Read and Review, please please!**

**Also, I'm in the market for a beta for this story. If you like the story and are interested in helping me out, please let me know! Thanks!**

**And now, without further ado, Taking Off the Training Wheels: In Which Claire Starts Pre-K  
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_***Beep, Beep, Beep**_*

Quil rolled over and reached his arm out, groping blindly for the source of the noise. His hand closed around the little alarm clock and sent it flying toward the wall. It made contact with a jarring crunch. "Aww crap," he mumbled into his pillow before sitting up. He pulled on a clean pair of jeans and stumbled to the bathroom. He splashed some water on his face to wake himself up, then grabbed a t-shirt on his way out the door.

He was so familiar with the drive to the Makah reservation at this point that he could do it in his sleep. This was lucky, because he could barely be considered awake. He was still in a haze when he pulled up in front of the little red house. The paint was peeling badly on the exterior, and he made a vague mental note to get some of the guys to come up and paint it with him.

He knocked to announce his entrance, but opened the door without waiting for a response. There was a squeal from the kitchen.

"Quil!"

"Sit down and finish your breakfast," he heard Elizabeth say. "Quil will come to you." The woman appeared in the living room wearing slacks and a cardigan. Her hair was pulled into a low, neat bun, and she was throwing some personal belongings into her purse, looking rushed. "Quil, thank you _so much_ for doing this," she said hurriedly. "You have no idea how much Dan and I wish that we could be there to drop her off today, but after I got the flu last month, I have no sick days left, and you know Dan's boss. Ugh!"

"Don't worry about it, Liz," Quil yawned, rubbing the back of his head sleepily. "I'm more than happy to do it."

She sighed, mostly to herself. "Oh Quil, what would I do without you?"

"Most likely," Quil said thoughtfully, "work even more and play even less." He gave her a smug grin.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes with a smile.

Suddenly, Claire burst into the room. "Quil!" she cried, jumping into his arms.

He perked up as if he had been injected with a shot of pure adrenaline. "What's up, Claire Bear?" he asked excitedly. "Are you pumped for your first day of school?"

"Yes!" the girl exclaimed.

"What are you going to do in school today?"

"I'm going to meet new friends and meet my teacher and plaaaaaay!"

"Alright," Elizabeth interrupted. "I've got to go sweetheart." She covered the little girl's face in kisses. "I love you, Claire. Have fun at school, okay?"

"Okay Mommy. I love you," she said, planting a kiss on her mother's lips.

"Did you finish your breakfast?" Quil asked as Elizabeth ran out the door.

"Yes! I'm ready to go to school," she beamed.

Quil laughed. True to form, Claire was ready for the day a fully thirty minutes before the day was ready for her. She was a slave to her enthusiasm. "It's a little early, Claire."

"But Quiiiiiil," she whined, "I'm ready nooooow."

He shrugged. "Alright," he said, knowing it would be pointless to argue. "Let's go, then." He strapped her into the car seat in the back of his car and turned on his CD player – The Jackson 5's greatest hits album, Claire's favorite. The girl bobbed to the beat, a smile plastered on her face.

"Going to school, going to school," she sang to the tune of the song playing over Quil's speakers. "Going to play and sing and do art."

"You sure are, Claire," Quil chuckled. "You're going to have so much fun. You have to tell me all about it when I come pick you up okay? I want to know all about your new friends and everything you do."

Claire's singing stopped abruptly. "But Quil, you're coming to school, too," she said, confusion evident on her face.

Quil grimaced. Apparently no one had been clear enough with her about exactly how school worked. "I'm just dropping you off, Claire Bear, because you're a big girl now. You're going to make some _new _friends. Kids, like you. And then I'll be there at the end of the day to pick you up."

Claire's confusion was rapidly turning to apprehension. "Quil," she said meekly, "I don't want to go to school anymore."

Quil felt awful. There was nothing worse than seeing her upset, especially when he knew that it was related to him. Maybe she didn't have to start yet. Maybe it was too soon. Some kids didn't go to Pre K; they just started school in Kindergarten. He could just turn around and go back home and they could spend the day together, just like always.

_No_, he told himself. Claire had to learn to be a regular kid. Her life would be abnormal enough without him allowing unnecessary complications and anomalies. As much as he loved spending all day every day with her, he knew he had to let go, and to help her do the same. She was ready to go to school, and they both knew it. She was friendly and social and smart. There was no good reason for her not to start. She was growing up, and he wouldn't hold her back. "Come on, Claire," he pleaded with her, "I know it's scary to do new things, but you've gotta be brave. It's going to be fun, and you're going to make lots of new friends, and I bet after just a liiiiiiittle while, it won't be scary anymore."

"I don't want to," she pouted. She folded her tiny arms across her chest and pursed her lips. She did not speak for the rest of the car ride.

When they arrived at the school, Quil unhooked the straps on Claire's car seat. "Quil, I don't want to go to school anymore," she said, looking innocently up into his eyes, her lower lip quivering.

"Oh Claire," he said, "don't do this to me. You were so psyched! School is awesome. You're going to play and learn new things and meet your teacher, and meet new friends, and it's going to be great."

"I don't want _new_ friends," Claire said. "_You're _my friend. I don't want to play anymore. I don't like school anymore."

"Come on, Claire Bear," Quil said, reaching down to extract her from her seat. "It'll be fun."

The little girl clung to the car seat for dear life. "No!" she shrieked as the two huge hands tried to lift her up. She squirmed violently to shake his grip. "Noooooooooooo! I don't want to go to school! I don't want to! I don't like school anymore! No! No! Noooooooooooooo!"

He released his hold with a sigh. Then he walked around to the other side of the car so he could slide in next to her. "Come here," he said, holding his arms out. Claire looked at him skeptically. "Come here," he said again. "We're going to make a deal." After a slight hesitation, she climbed into his lap. "Okay," he said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Here it is: We're going to go inside. I'll go with you. We'll meet your teacher. We'll meet some kids. And I'll stay all the way until 8:30. Then I'll leave. But when those doors open at 2 o'clock, I will already be there, waiting for you. _And_ –now this is only if you promise to be my big brave girl and truly give school a chance – if you REALLY need me at any point during the day, you just say the words 'Quil, I need you.' Go ahead. Practice."

Claire's eyes were still big with fear, but she did as he had instructed. "Quil, I need you," she said.

"Perfect," he said encouragingly. "Just like that. Then you count to thirty. You can count up to thirty, right?" She nodded. "You count up to thirty, and you look out that window." He pointed to a large window on the side of the building, through which they could see a brightly decorated classroom. "I'll be there. Ok? No matter what."

"No matter what?"

"No matter what." He nodded sharply. "Deal?" he asked.

"Deal," she consented.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

"Are you going to be my brave girl and have fun?"

"Mhm," she nodded, the smile creeping back across her face.

"Let me see that Kool-Aid smile," he grinned, poking her little tummy.

She rewarded him with a giggle and a toothy smile and they proceeded to make their entrance into the school.

The classroom was decorated with posters, photographs, and children's drawings and there was a colorful rug on the floor patterned with the alphabet. A slightly chubby young woman with a kind face sat behind a desk in the corner of the room, shuffling through some papers. She looked up when Quil and Claire walked in and her face lit up. "Hi," she said enthusiastically, coming over to greet them. "What's your name?" she asked, crouching down so she was level with Claire.

"Claire," she mumbled. Her small fingers were wrapped tightly around Quil's thumb because they didn't reach around his whole hand.

"Hi Claire," the woman said, offering a little wave. "I'm Miss Charlotte. I'm going to be your teacher this year. Are you excited to start school?" Claire nodded wordlessly. "Well," she gestured out toward the rest of the room, "this is our classroom. It's where we'll be spending most of our time. Would you like to look around a little bit?" Another nod.

Miss Charlotte led them around the little room, explaining what they did in each area. With every step she took, Claire dragged Quil behind her. They were just getting acquainted with the building block area when another little girl walked in, accompanied by her mother. She was about Claire's height, but her straight black hair was cut just above her shoulders and her eyes were a bright golden color. Miss Charlotte introduced herself to the little girl, Sarah, and then brought her over to meet Claire. "Hey Claire, this is Sarah. Do you want to help me show her the classroom?"

"Sure," Claire said. Her reaction was much more enthusiastic, though she still clung to Quil's finger. She used her free hand to grab the hand of the other little girl and pull her along on the same tour Miss Charlotte had given her. After the tour, Claire and Sarah played in the toy kitchen while other kids arrived. The two girls helped Miss Charlotte show the newcomers around and before they knew it, it was 8:30.

"Okay Claire Bear," Quil said. "It's time for me to go."

Claire looked up at him, then down at her new friend Sarah, and then back up at Quil. Uneasiness began to creep back onto her face and she grabbed his hand with both of hers. "Don't go," she squeaked.

"Hey," he said, kneeling to look her in the eye. "You're going to be brave, right? You're my big girl, remember? We met your teacher, Miss Charlotte, and you have your new friend Sarah here, right?" She nodded. "And if you need me? What do you say?"

"Quil, I need you," she murmured.

"Exactly. Then thirty, then you look out that window." He pointed out the same window they had looked through from the other side before. "I'll be there. Alright?"

"Okay."

"I'll see you at two, Claire Bear." He kissed the top of her head.

"Bye bye, Quil." She threw her arms around his neck and he enveloped her in a hug. She watched him until he was out the door, and then he saw her turn back to her new friend.

Quil spent the morning patrolling the woods nearby, always keeping his extra-sensitive ears open to the cry of his name. It made him tense leaving her alone in a new situation with someone he didn't know. Staying close was as much for his own benefit as it was for hers. As expected, however, the day went off without a hitch.

When the doors opened at 2, he was, as promised, waiting just outside. Claire greeted him with as much happiness and enthusiasm as she had when he had arrived at her house that morning. He could feel himself breathing easier once she had flung herself into his waiting arms. "Hey, Munchkin."

"Hi Quil," she sang out.

"So?" he asked, "How did it go?"

"Good. Miss Charlotte read us a story about the basket lady who eats children, and we drew pictures and sang songs and played and counted." The girl offered the information animatedly as they walked to the car. She was eager to share all of her new experiences with her old friend.

Quil absorbed every word with equal enthusiasm. "Did you meet a lot of new kids?" he prompted her.

"Mhm. Sarah and Toby and Jasmine and Ben and George and Jessie."

"Wow. That's a bunch. I bet you're excited to go back and play with them again tomorrow," he said, trying his best to reinforce the feeling she had right now to avoid another scene tomorrow. "Who did you play with the most?"

"I played with Sarah the most. We built blocks and played superhero princesses."

Quil was excited to hear about Claire learning new things, but he was the tiniest bit ill at ease with the fact that it was all happening without him. It was strange to hear about her playing with other kids. Yet, he had to admit, he was glad she had someone else to play princesses with. "Cool, Claire Bear. It sounds like Sarah's your best friend, huh."

Claire frowned as if the question was absurd. "No, Silly Quil," she shook her head. "_You're_ my best friend."


	3. In Which Claire Acts Recklessly

**Disclaimer: I own no one you recognize. **

**Thanks to everyone who's reading. Hope you like the new chapter! Sorry it took so long!**

**I always love to hear what people think, so RxR please :)  
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When Collin jumped down the entire flight of stairs in one leap, the foundation of the house shook. Claire looked up at him in awe, her mouth hanging open. The expression on Quil's face, however, was quite different. In fact, if looks could have killed, Collin would have dropped dead on the spot.

"You trying to bring my grandfather's house down?" he snarled.

Collin ignored him and headed toward the kitchen. "Yo, do you have anything to eat?" When he returned with a bag of potato chips, Claire was five steps up preparing to jump.

"I can do that!" she exclaimed.

"Whoa there Claire Bear," Quil said, snatching her down. "You can't jump from up there. You'll hurt yourself."

"But Quil, I'm big now. I can do it." She squirmed in his arms, trying to get back to the staircase.

"Sorry Munchkin. It's too dangerous."

"But Collin did it. Quil, I can do it, too! Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease! Please Quil! I really can do it. I promise I can. I can do it. Please? Pleeeease Quil!" She was working herself up and would soon be in full on tantrum mode.

Quil cringed. He hated saying no to Claire. If she started crying, he wasn't sure he could maintain his resolve. He glared at Collin. "You see what you did?" he muttered. Restraining Claire in one powerful arm, his other darted out to slug Collin in the shoulder as hard as he could.

"Oww!" Collin complained, rubbing his shoulder. "What, dude? Just let her jump. She'll be fine." He shrugged, planting himself in the armchair in front of the TV. "And if she hurts herself, she'll learn."

"See Quil? Collin said I can do it." She looked up at him, her eyes big, her bottom lip quivering. She could see the consideration in his eyes. He was softening. In her most sugary sweet voice she asked, "Don't you believe in me?"

Guilt hit Quil like a wave. How did he get turned into the bad guy here? He was supposed to be her best friend. The one she could always count on. How did this suddenly get turned around on him? And how could a five year old be so smart to know exactly where to hit him to make him break? "Of course I believe in you, Claire Bear. I just don't want you to get hurt," he said, lowering her to the floor.

"I won't," she assured him. "I promise."

After another moment of hesitation, he let out a sigh. "Okay, you can jump from the third step."

Claire was already back on the fifth. "This one?" He cocked his head and raised one eyebrow. She descended to the fourth. "This one?" she asked again, hopefully.

"Fine. That one. I'll catch you, okay?"

Claire grinned. "Yay!"

"Okay, bend your knees and push off hard." She prepared. "Ready? One, two… three!" She launched herself into his waiting arms, squealing with joy.

"Again!" Claire cried, scrambling up the stairs as soon as Quil placed her back on her feet. Seeing her so happy and excited, Quil couldn't help but relax. He held his arms out again and she leapt again with as much glee as the first time. After repeating this process several times, the dolls that they had been playing with before seemed to catch Claire's eye and she ran back to the living room. Quil followed her, somewhat relieved.

Just as Quil was picking up his Barbie, Embry burst through the door holding a bucket of fried chicken. "What up, CQ? What up, Collin?"

"That's what I'm talking about!" Collin said. He hopped up from the chair and grabbed a chicken wing. "How you doin', Embry?"

Embry plopped down on the couch. "Not too bad. You guys hungry?" he asked Quil and Claire.

Quil watched as a smile crept across Claire's face. She licked her lips, her eyes trained on the food. "Thanks," he said to Embry. "Let me just grab a plate for the munchkin."

As soon as he got to the kitchen, Quil heard the words "Uncle Embry, look what I can do!" Before he could even react, there was a loud thud and the next thing he knew Claire's cries pierced the air.

"Shit!" he breathed. He was sitting by her side in an instant, scooping her into his lap and cradling her in his arms. Her hands clutched her forehead where it had smashed against the banister. Blood seeped through her fingers. "Shh, Claire, shhhh," he cooed, rocking her back and forth. "Shh. You're okay. Let me see," he said, tenderly taking her hand, exposing a small gash at her hairline above her right eyebrow.

Embry was there with a damp cloth, gauze and some masking tape. "You don't have band-aids," he said apologetically. Quil used the cloth to dab gently at the blood. Claire continued to cry as Quil cleaned her wound.

"Ooooowwwwwww," she wailed between teary breaths. "It huuuuuuuuuuuuurts."

Pain was swelling deep within Quil's chest. With every sob it tore into him. "Shh, Claire. You're going to be okay. Just let me clean it up. It'll stop hurting soon."

"On the bright side," Collin said, "next time I'll bet she listens to you when you tell her not to do something."

"You're an idiot, you know that?" Quil spat furiously. "What am I supposed to tell her parents? They're never going to let her come over here again. This is the exact thing that I'm not supposed to let happen. I'm supposed to keep her safe; that's the only reason they leave her with me." Claire's cries grew louder at Quil's frantic speech. He noticed and took a deep breath to calm himself. "Shhh. You're okay Claire Bear. You're okay."

"Umm, maybe I should go," Collin said.

Embry laughed. "Yeah, that might be best. And you might want to avoid him when Claire's not around for a while, too. You know he doesn't like getting violent in front of her, but if she's not there to protect you…I'd fear for your life."

"Noted."

Quil ignored their conversation and finished cleaning the cut. Then he carefully positioned the gauze on her forehead and used the masking tape to hold it in place. Once he had fixed her up, he held her tight against his chest whispering words of comfort and stroking her hair.

Shortly, her tears stopped and she looked up at him. "Quil?"

"Yeah Claire Bear?"

"I'm sorry," she sniffed.

"Sorry?" he asked, carrying her to the couch.

"I promised I wouldn't get hurt. And now Mommy won't let me play with you anymore and it's all my fault 'cuz I didn't listen." Her eyes welled up again, but they were not tears of pain or shock. They were tears of remorse.

"Hey," Quil said reassuringly. "Don't apologize. It was an accident. Alright? It's okay. You're okay. And don't worry; Mommy will still let us play. I'll always be here to play with you."

"Yeah," Embry said with a smirk, "Quil was just being a drama queen."

Claire's face scrunched up in thought. "What's a drama queen?" she asked, enthralled by the very mention of the word queen.

"Well," Embry started, sitting next to them on the couch, the smirk still plastered on his face, "it's a very fancy-looking queen who dresses in long gowns and lots of jewelry but always eats too much sugar and gets over-excited so she exaggerates. Do you know what it means to exaggerate?" Claire shook her head. "It means to make something seem bigger or better, or in this case worse, than it really is. To make it seem more dramatic."

"Oh," she said. She considered this. "Quil is a queen?"

Embry nodded. "A very fancy drama queen. He doesn't look it though, does he?" Claire looked Quil up and down, then shook her head. "Do you think maybe we should help him look like the glamorous queen he is?" Over Claire's head, he waggled his eyebrows devilishly at Quil.

Quil shot Embry a dirty look. He couldn't be too mad, though, because Embry had successfully distracted Claire from any lingering pain and she was once again giggling happily. She dragged Quil up to his room where they fashioned a dress out of a sheet and draped it around his body. Then they painstakingly searched his bedroom and the rest of the house for anything that could be attached to string and fashioned into jewelry. Claire applied some old tempera paint to his face for makeup As a finishing touch they made a crown out of cardboard and painted the words 'drama queen' across the front.

Claire stood back to admire her work. "Quil," she said almost in awe. "You look beautiful."

Embry was doubled up trying to restrain his laughter. "Dude, you need to look in the mirror."

They heard the door open downstairs. "Hello?" Old Quil called out. "Anybody home?"

"Up here, Grandpa," Quil called back, hurrying back down the stairs holding Claire's hand.

"Well well well, don't you look lovely," Old Quil said with a grin.

"It's all thanks to my amazing stylist," Quil said, twirling to show off his outfit.

"He's a drama queen," Claire declared.

Old Quil burst out laughing. "You can say that again." He took something out of his pocket. "I have something for you." It was a bar of solid milk chocolate.

"Oooh, thank you!" Claire said, taking it from him.

"Grandpa," Quil said, "we're trying to teach her to share."

"You boys eat enough food around here. She deserves a little something to herself," Old Quil said good-naturedly.

"But Quil," Claire said, "you can have some."

"I can't, Claire Bear."

"Why not? Don't you like chocolate?"

"Of course I _like_ it," he said.

"Everybody likes chocolate," Embry said almost longingly. "We just can't eat it."

"It makes us sick," Quil explained. "Me, Embry, Uncle Jay, Uncle Sam, all the guys."

"What a cruel joke," Embry reflected. "I haven't had chocolate in almost four years."

"Well then it makes me sick, too," Claire decided.

"No Claire," Quil said. "It's okay. You can eat it. You'll be fine. It's a … well a guy thing I guess."

"If you can't eat it, then I can't eat it either," Claire said determinedly.

"Okay," Quil shrugged, taking the candy bar and handing it back to Old Quil. "Thanks Grandpa, but I guess it's all yours."

"Suit yourself," Old Quil said, unwrapping the bar and taking a bite. "Will you three be here for dinner?"

"Thanks Mr. Ateara," Embry said, "but I'm gonna eat with my mom."

"And I've got to take Claire home," Quil said. "Her parents usually feed me."

"That's never stopped you before," Old Quil chuckled. "I'll have food for you when you get back. Pick up some bread on your way home, will you?"

Quil felt a hand on his shoulder as he followed Claire out the door. "What happened to her head?" his grandfather asked.

Quil rolled his eyes and shook his head. The frustration of the situation came back to him quickly. "She saw Collin jump down the stairs and decided she wanted to try it herself. I let her try a couple of times and I caught her, but then when my back was turned, she was showing off to Embry. Didn't make it all the way down, hit her head on the banister." He took deep breaths to suppress the stress. Old Quil laughed. "What's so funny?"

"Acting rashly? Doing dangerous things just for the sake of doing them? Showing off to Embry? She's turning into a miniature you."


End file.
